


Why Is It Always A Tale As Old As Times?

by IfYouLikePinaColadas31000



Series: Blam Week 2016 [4]
Category: Glee
Genre: Beauty and the Beast!AU, Blaine as Belle, Blam, Blam Week, Blam Week 2016, Cooper as Maurice, M/M, Sabastian Smythe as Gaston, Sam as the Beast, the other glee clubbers as the enchanted objects, violence warning because of Sam's temper and behavior as the beast
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-27
Updated: 2016-10-27
Packaged: 2018-08-27 10:37:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8398300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IfYouLikePinaColadas31000/pseuds/IfYouLikePinaColadas31000
Summary: Fourth entry for the Blam Week 2016!
The theme for today was magic/fairytale AU, I hope you'll like =D





	

**Author's Note:**

> Once again, this work was unbetaed, so I'm really sorry for the mistakes.
> 
> I had to cut this work in half because I lost the ending in my computer. I suck, I know.
> 
> This is the beauty and the beast AU nobody asked for! I do not own disney, nor Glee.
> 
> The first piece of music Cooper hears when he finds the Beast's castle is the prologue of the disney movie. The "Viva La Vida" cover can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMummqXx-qY

Once upon a time, in faraway land, A young Prince lived in a shining castle. Although his court was filled by the best singers and musicians in the world, the Prince had banned every music from his kingdom. But then, one winter's night, an old beggar man came to the castle, and offered a single song in return for shelter from the bitter cold.

Repulsed by his haggard appearance, the Prince sneered at the gift and turned the old man away. But he warned him not to be deceived by appearances, for music could soften even the coldest of hearts. And when the Prince dismissed the beggar again, the old man's ugliness melted away to reveal a beautiful Enchanter.

The Prince tried to apologize, but it was too late, for the Enchanter had seen there was no music and thus no love in his heart. And as a punishment, he transformed him into a hideous Beast, and placed a powerful spell on the castle, and all who lived there.

Ashamed of his monstrous form, the Beast concealed himself inside his castle, with a magic mirror as his only window to the outside world. The old beggar had showed him a guitar when he had offered the song, and it was truly an enchanted guitar which strings would break on his twenty first year.

If he could find the music and love inside him, and earn someone's love in return by the time the last string broke, the spell would be broken. If not, he would be doomed to remain a Beast for all time. As the years passed, he fell into despair, and lost all hope.

For who could ever learn to love a Beast?

***

"Little town, it's a quiet village..." Blaine was singing under his breath as he pushed the door of his favorite sheet music shop open. Will Schuester flashed him a bright smile and undid the button of his brown vest.

"Hello Blaine!"

"Hello Mister Schue! I'm returning the song I borrowed!" Blaine said, handing back the sheet music before moving to the shelves against the wall.

"What, already?"

"I learned it in one night. Have you got anything new?"

"Not since yesterday." Will chuckled, looking fondly at the young man who smiled as he studied the shelves.

"That's alright, I'll borrow... This one!" Blaine said, pulling a dusty piece of paper and handing it to the older man who read the title before looking up.

"You've already borrowed it twice!"

"But it's my favorite! I love songs about love! Dreaming of what you can do with your significant other while remembering what you went through together!" Blaine replied with passion, returning to Will while fishing a bit of money from his pocket. But the older man put a hand on his with a bright smile.

"Well if you love it that much, it's yours." He said, and Blaine made a face.

"But, Mister Schue..."

"I insist!"

"Oh, thank you! Thank you very much!" Blaine said, exiting the little shop with a grateful smile. As he studied the musical staves, humming the tune of the song, he came across Sebastian who grabbed the sheet music from him.

"Hello Blaine!" He greeted with a seductive smile that made the young man grimace. He rolled the seet music under Blaine's horrified eyes.

"Hello, Sebastian. Could you give me my sheet back please?" He asked with a bit of distress. He did not want the other boy to ruin the fragile paper. Sebastian unrolled the paper and stared at it with disdain.

"I don't see what's interesting in a bunch of dots and lines." He sneered, throwing the paper in a nearby puddle of mud. Blaine yelped and went to retrieve the sheet, removing the mud with the front of his shirt.

"That's because you're an insensitive, unmoved simpleton." Blaine declared with a smile, knowing Sebastian was too conceited to even register the insult. He was too busy admiring himself in the window of the butcher. "If you'll excuse me, I promised my brother I'd help him move the instruments for the fair."

"Oh please! Nobody cares about music! And your brother is a fool if he thinks otherwise!" Sebastian protested. "Come with me, we'll have a beer..."

"No, thank you. I really have to go." Blaine declared, pressing the sheet music against his chest as he fled to his house.

***

"I'll be back in a day or two. I'm sure these will sell well." Cooper said quietly, his tone doubtful as he checked the instruments on the chariot. Their horse snorted quietly and Blaine put a hand on Cooper's arm.

"You will sell each and every of them. You're the best instrument maker of the country. One would be a fool not to see that."

Seeing so much faith in his little brother's eyes put some confidence in Cooper's heart, and he quickly got himself settled on the chariot. He then left, as Blaine waved enthusiasticly behind him.

The moon was high in the sky when Cooper finally admitted he was lost. He held his lantern over his map, trying to find the crossroad he was currently staring at. And that was when the wolves came. Cooper's eyes went wide as the horse panicked and raced away as the man tried to regain control over him.

After an especially violent turn, Cooper was sent flying off his seat and his back collided with a gate. He sat there, stunned as the horse ran away, leaving him alone and lost in the night. He quickly jumped on his feet when he saw the eyes of the wolves glowing in the shadows, and they were too close. With a sudden burst of fear, Cooper climbed up the gate, losing his hat in the process, and barely took a look at the castle before he ran towards the main door.

He looked behind him and saw the wolves gnawing at the metal bars of the gate, and he knocked harshly on the door. It opened on the third strike and Cooper slipped inside, shivering. He stood in the wide entrance with stupor. As far as he could remember, there were no stories about nobles living in the area. He took a few tentative steps, jumping when he heard whispers.

"From the top... Five, six, seven..."

"Oh, could you please shut up, Rachel! We do not need any directions. We've been playing perfectly without you trying to direct us."

"I must direct you! You've been playing too loud, Santana. I couldn't hear myself..."

"Oh, will you two be quiet? The master is asleep, so it's either you fight or we start playing!"

There was a moment of silence after that, and Cooper walked closer to the source of the whispers. He reached a door that was left ajar and peeped through the small space. Inside the room was a small orchestra, but he could not see any musicians. So he got inside as discreetly as he could, intrigued. The instruments were perfectly still. He studied them for a second before he heard the voice again, and looked around the room to see who was talking.

"Five, six, seven, eight..."

And Cooper paled. Because the instruments started moving on their own, the bows slid across the strings of the violins and the cellos as the keys of the piano started moving on their own. The music was hauntingly beautiful, and Cooper rose his hands to cover his mouth. He did not know what was happening, but the music he heard told a terrible story. Beautiful in its sadness. He listenned with emotion as the music grew terrible and slowly melted in a complaint. It ended in a hopeful tone, and Cooper started clapping eagerly as a single tear rolled down his cheek.

The air suddenly shimmered behind the instruments, and transparent figures appeared, their faces full of fear. The figure behind the first violin, a young woman with a fringe and wavy hair hovered in his direction, her hands were merging with the instrument.

"You can't be here!" She told him in an urged whisper. "You must leave!"

"Oh, silence Rachel!" The figure behind a cello said, with a beautiful raspy voice. It was a young woman with a devilish look and she studied him, hovering in circles around him. "How long has it been since we got any visits? And he clapped! That means he likes music! What is your name?" She asked, finally stopping on his right side.

"My name is Cooper." The man replied. "Did you compose this music? It was beautiful." He told all of the figures, and they looked at each other, confused at first, and then slowly beginning to smile.

"Yes! Yes we did! Would you like to hear something else?" A woman with a curvy body asked behind the piano.

"We must not! Mercedes, we'll wake up the master!" The figure named Rachel protested.

"Please, it's not like he can hurt us!" A man with a shaved head protested behind a guitar. "And I'm tired of sitting here while you all get to play. Please. Let me sing as well." Cooper frowned.

"I did not hear any of you sing." He pointed out, and felt like an idiot when they all laughed, besides Rachel whose face was growing more and more afraid.

"Oh, but you just did. These instruments are our voices." A very tall young man told him behind a drum. "I wished mine was not just banging noises..." He added sadly.

"But without you, we would lose our rythm, Finn." Rachel said lovingly, even if her voice was shaking.

"Don't mind these two." A petite asian woman declared, holding a transverse flute. "Tell us what you want us to play, stranger. We can play anything." She assured happily. Cooper smiled and went to sit in front of the orchestra.

"What you played earlier, it was so sad... I'd like to hear something uplifting." He confessed.

"We can't! We mustn't play anything cheery! The master always hears when we play something gleeful!" Rachel warned, and Santana hovered back to her place.

"Then leave, Rachel. Marley can take your place." She groaned. "Let's do _Viva La Vida._ " 

And before Rachel could protest again, the orchestra started playing, and Cooper felt a wide smile spread on his face. When they reached the chorus, goosebumps erupted all over his skin. He had never heard this song before, and it seemed to talk about something that was lost, but the hope of recovering it, and the determination he could hear in the chords moved him to the point he started crying again. Rachel was muttering next to him, pleading.

But before they could reach the second chorus, the doors behind Cooper suddenly slammed open and the orchestra let out a concert of gasps. Santana instantly hovered towards the newcomer.

"Master! This man got lost and heard our music! We just wanted to indulge for a little moment before sending him back..." She was interrupted by a loud roar that made Cooper turn ashen. The figure of the young woman faded like smoke in the wind and the cello fell on the floor with a loud noise. He was frozen with fear, unable to even turn his head to look at the master of the place. Rachel, who had been slowly fading and reappearing suddenly hovered and held herself straight.

"Master... I told them you did not want us to play any music. I told them to send the man away, but they did not listen. I am absolutely not responsible for this debacle and..." The master roared again and Rachel faded as well, and the violin fell in Cooper's lap, cold as ice. Something jumped over his chair, a huge form that held itself slightly crouched. Cooper could only see its back when the thing roared once again, louder this time, and all the figures faded as their instrument clattered down to the ground. The lid of the piano slammed shut, and an eerie silence filled the room.

And then the thing turned around and Cooper choked on his spit, feeling himself turn ashen. The master was not a man. He held himself crouched, his body distorted with muscles. His skin was as white as the sheet music Blaine always brought home. Empty musical staves were drawn across the Beast's body. But what scared Cooper the most was the head of the monster. He had green eyes, the only feature that seemed human in his whole being, but the rest was horrible. Huge fangs were sticking out of his mouth under a straight nose. The monster was bald, and the whole right side of his face was also covered in staves.

"What are you looking at?" He roared, and Cooper grimaced. He had never heard such horrible voice before, discordant and monotonous. The master walked towards him, still crouched. His hands were huge and difformed and he grabbed Cooper's chair.

"No... Nothing..." Cooper stammered, unable to look away as his body turned icy with terror.

"Liar! You came here to see the beast, didn't you?" The monster said in a bitterly angry tone.

"No, no, I swear!" Cooper replied, his own voice shaking. He was going to die. He should have stayed outside with the wolves.

"Lying again!" The Beast roared. "I'm going to grant you your wish, stranger. You'll gaze upon me everyday, but nobody will know. You're my prisoner, and you'll remain my prisoner until the day you die."

And the Beast grabbed him by the front of his shirt and dragged him out of the music room as he struggled to break free.

***

Blaine was going crazy. It had been almost five days since Cooper had left, and he still was not back from his trip. Knowing he was alone in his house, Sebastian had been visiting him often, much to the young man's displeasure. He was lying in the field behind his house after Sebastian had visited him once again. He had hinted about some kind of physical relationship, but the mere idea of touching him made Blaine's skin crawl. He picked a dandelion and blew away its fuzz when he heard the eavy gallop of a horse. Blaine recognized their horse and jumped to his feet, until the animal stopped beside him.

"Pavarotti? Where's Coop?" He asked with anguish, noticing the instruments were still on the chariot. "Oh God." He whispered and undid the ties of the chariot. He patted the neck of Pavarotti in a soothing motion as he tried hard not to panic. A bad feeling was swelling in is chest. He ran inside his house and retrieved a cloak and boots before going back and climbing on the horse's back. "Lead me to him." He demanded, and dug his heels softly in Pavarotti's flanks. The horse neighed and strarted running, taking Blaine deep in the forest.

A few hours after, Blaine was standing in front of the castle gates, shaking from the cold and fear. He pushed the gates open and saw his brother's hat on the ground. He picked it up and pressed it to his chest before running to the main door of the castle. He pushed it open and was greeted by a deafening silence.

"Coop?" He called, and heard a whisper in the staircase in front of him. And then the sound of a cello that made him jump. "Hello? Coop? Is that you?" He called, running in the stairs as the cello was moving away. Blaine was confused. Nobody could move while playing the cello. It was starting to creep him out, until he heard a violin from the door at his right. He followed it, climbing up a narrow flight of stairs. At the top laid an ensemble of little rooms with wooden doors. "Hello?" Blaine called, only noticing the grid at the bottom of the doors when a hand curled around one of the bars.

"Blaine?" Coop's voice croaked, and his face appeared.

"Coop!" Blaine called and knelt in front of the door, terrified. "Who put you in here?" He asked, trying to pull the bars away, but it was useless. Coop's hand covered his, and Blaine flinched. It was ice cold. His older brother coughed hard.

"Listen Blaine, you have to get away from here. It's dangerous. This place is curs..."

But he could not finish his sentence as Blaine was suddenly pulled way and thrown aside. The young man rolled on his back, trying to see his attacker who remained in the shadows. He only could perceive their broad silhouette. A discordant voice rose from the darkness.

"Who are you, what are you doing here?" A chill ran down the young man's spine as he swallowed thickly around the lump in his throat.

"Please... It's my brother in there." He mumbled, his throat too narrow to speak loud enough. Coop coughed loudly, and Blaine looked at the door. "Please, he's sick. You have to let him go."

"Your brother trespassed!" The discordant voice thundered. "He's my prisoner."

"Please..." Blaine begged, going to his knees. "He won't tell anyone about your castle..."

"It doesn't change anything if he speaks or not." Blaine felt tears swell in his eyes. He clenched his jaw and tried to prevent them from spilling.

"Keep me instead."

"NO!!" Coop shouted, his voice breaking.

"You?" The voice scoffed. "You would... Take his place?" the tone was doubtful, and Blaine nodded, not even sure the owner of the voice could see him.

"If I accept, will you let him go?" Blaine asked, ignoring Coop's desperate protests. The owner of the voice growled.

"If you promise you'll be my prisoner forever." Blaine felt cold suddenly. He thought about it for a few seconds, but it was the only way Coop could leave. But he had to know who was going to be his captor.

"Let me see you..." He asked, going stiff when he saw the shadows move. And when the owner of the voice come into the moonlight that was shining through a circular window on the ceiling, he could not repress a horrified gasp. The monster was wearing nothing but a pair of torn pants and a cloak, and he looked horrible. Because he was a he, Blaine realized. He bit his lips and got up stepping into the light as well.

"You have my word." He declared, knowing he had taken the worst decision of his life, that was now going to be very short.

"So be it!" The monster roared and went to open the door of Coop's cell.

"No, Blaine! I promised Mom and Dad to take care of you..." But the Beast grabbed him by the collar and took him away as Blaine begged him to wait. The last thing he saw was Coop, crying and reaching out to him before he rushed to the window of the cell to look outside the castle. A few minutes after, he saw the beast shove his brother inside a ruined carriage while a violin floated next to him. The violin played a few chords, and the carriage suddenly started moving on its own, taking Coop away before desappearing into the night. Blaine put a hand in front of his mouth and started crying heavily.

He was too shocked to even think about the floating violin. He stayed in the cell, sobbing, until he heard the Beast come back.

"It was the last time I saw him." Blaine sobbed. "And you didn't let me say goodbye." He croaked. An awkward silence filled the cell after that.

"I'll show you your room." The Beast declared. His dicordant voice sounded sorry for a second and Blaine looked at the monster, surprised.

"But I thought..." He started, only to be cut short by the monster.

"You'd rather sleep here?" He growled and Blaine shook his head. "Then follow me."

***

Blaine was sitting on the bed. He refused to go out of his room, and his stomach was growling. But he did not want to come face to face with the monster again. The Beast had told him he had to follow rules while staying with him. Blaine could do anyting he wanted, except singing. Touching the scattered instruments was forbidden. He could go anywhere, except in the west wing. When he had asked why, the Beast had roared.

"I forbid it! No music! And no west wing!" Blaine had almost passed out with fear. But now he was hungry. With anguish, he went to open his door, checking the hallway before slipping out of his room. He moved quietly through the hallway and went down the stairs, looking out for the Beast, but he was nowhere to be seen. He looked around until he heard voices coming from a little door. He pushed it opened and smiled with gratitude when he found the kitchen there. He froze when he saw a piano that there was a piano inside, as well as a cello and the same violin he had spotted earlier.

"Hello?" Blaine called weakly. "I heard someone... I'm sorry to intrude, but I would like to eat something if it is possible." Nobody answered and Blaine's face fell. He started to back away towards the door when the lid of the piano opened, and the figure of a curvy young woman appeared on the stool in front of the keyboard.

"Oh hell to the no! He's hungry, I'm not letting him starve!" Blaine squealed in fear at the apparition and took a step back.

"Mercedes!!" A second figure hissed, a young woman with a fringe, holding the violin. The apparition named Mercedes challenged the second young woman with her eyes and started playing a tune on the piano. A set of plates and cutlery flied out of the cabinets along the wall, as the stove suddenly lit up in flames.

"You know, this would go faster if you harmonized!" Mercedes hissed at the other young woman, who shook her head stubbornly and hovered to the opposite corner of the room.

"If he wants to eat, he can have some bread the master left." She groaned. Mercedes scowled and kept playing.

"I refuse to leave the poor sweetheart like that."

"You're a piano." Blaine suddenly let out, his mind completely confused. Mercedes flashed him a big smile.

"Keep playing Mercedes." A raspy voice instructed, and the cello started moving on its own before a third figure appeared behind it. The young woman had long glossy hair that looked like silk, Blaine thought, and a devilish smile. She started harmonizing to the tune the first apparition was playing, and everything moved faster around the kitchen. The fire burned brighter as the knives started cutting the vegetables at an unimaginable speed.

"But the... Your master said no music." Blaine remarked, sitting down and shaking. "Are you ghosts?" He asked. The third apparition laughed.

"It's the only way we can achieve things around here." She said. "He only tolerates music for the housekeeping and for the kitchen. And no. We're not ghosts."

The three apparitions stayed silent after that, only playing soft music to refill Blaine's plate and glass. Except the violin, who did not speak nor play a single chord. After his improvised dinner, Blaine went back to his room, completely baffled. This place was... Strange. He only registered how exhausted he was after he laid down on his bed.

He spent the next day exploring the castle, trying to avoid the Beast, but his captor was nowhere to be found. On his journey, he saw a lot of music instruments lying in the dust, but the Beast had been clear about not touching any. And if what he had seen the night before had been true, these instruments were actually... Alive? Blaine shook his head at the crazy thought.

Before he actually lost it, he decided to keep exploring. He visited every part of the castle, and the night had fallen an hour before when he came to the large stairway that led to the west wing. He had just put a foot on the first step when the violin and the cello got in the way, their respective player fading into view.

"No. The west wing is forbidden." The violin said furiously. "You go back to your room."

"Rachel, be quiet." The cello scolded the violin and Blaine looked at them.

"What's up there?" He asked, and the cello smirked.

"Nothing you want to see. The master told you not to go there. So you must not go there."

"As much as I hate to admit it, for once, Santana is right." Rachel rolled her eyes and made a sulky face.

"You seem to enjoy music, maybe you could follow us to the music room instead?" Santana proposed. Blaine's eyes twinkled at that.

"You have a music room? With sheet music? Is there an instrument I can play? Can I sing there?" Rachel seemed relieved at that and let out a small laugh.

"We have all that. And yes, I'm sure we can find someone who will actually let you play. As long as you keep it low. Same goes with the singing." She said, and hovered past him, followed by Santana.

"But the master is surely asleep though, so you will probably be able to play as much as you want." The cello said, and Blaine followed them eagerly, before looking back. He could catch them later, right? He took a few steps back as they hovered further and further away from him. The west wing really intrigued him. What was in there? Why would the Beast forbid him to go there?

He climbed the stairs as quietly as he could and shivered. It was colder there than in any parts of the castle. And as he progressed through the hallway, he noticed a stack of broken mirrors against a wall. He shivered violently at his distorted reflection. He looked at the door at the end of the corrider before pushing it open.

The inside of the room was a ruin. The furnitures were destroyed, the curtains torn. Blaine felt his breath catch in his throat, but his curiosity was stronger than his fear. So he kept looking around. On the wall next to the bed hung a torn portrait. Blaine got closer and examined it. He could only see a pair of green eyes. The rest of the canvas was falling over the rest of the painting. He got closer and closer and grabbed the torn piece, slowly pushing it up to see who was the person painted there.

But as he was about to fully pull the portrait together, he saw a flash of light in the corner of his eye. He let go of the painting and went still. There, just in front of a large window that led to an impressive circular balcony stood a glass cabinet. And inside the glass cabinet was one of the most beautiful guitar the young man had ever seen. The wood was red, with a swirling pattern that reminded him of roses. And the strings were golden. Two of them were broken though.

Blaine approached the glass cabinet and saw it was not locked. He opened it and extended the hand towards the instrument with awe. But just as he was about to touch it, one of the strings broke, making him jump backwards. A loud growl erupted from the shadows as the Beast jumped next to him and closed the glass cabinet with a gentleness that baffled Blaine. Then, the monster turned his hideous face towards the young man.

"I forbade you to come here..." The Beast's discordant voice was low and threatening as he slowly moved towards Blaine like a predator.

"I'm sorry..." Blaine choked, taking a step back.

"Do you have any idea of what you could have done?" His captor's voice grew louder and Blaine quickly retreated, only to be stopped by the remains of a wardrobe.

"I didn't know it was that serious..." He babbled with a tiny voice.

"GET OUT!!! GET. OUT!!!" The Beast suddenly roared and lauched at him. Blaine screamed and ran away as he heard the monster thrash what was left of the wardrobe. He did not look back, but if he had, he would have seen the Beast put a distorted hand over his face in a gesture full of sorrow.

He kept running and running, practically jumping down the stairs as he grabbed a cloak that was not his on the hook next to the door. Rachel and Santana hovered quickly towards him.

"What are you doing?" The violin squealed as Blaine tied the cloak around his neck.

"I can't keep my promise. I won't stay any longer in this cursed place!" He announced and opened the door, ignoring the flurry of snow that suddenly invaded the entry hall and made Rachel and Santana fade away, their instruments clattering down on the floor.

Blaine went to fetch Pavarotti in the stables and hopped on his back, before he dug his heels in the horse's flank.

"Home! Take me home!"


End file.
